Complex computer systems require stable environmental and power conditions to ensure proper operation. When site environmental problems occur, such as air conditioning malfunctions, restricted air flow around the computer system, a/c power glitches, etc., the computer system may not properly perform, resulting to injury to important data stored on the computer by logical damage, e.g., disk sectors data corruption, or even complete hardware malfunction.
Accordingly, many complex systems are provided with various sensors for detecting these types of environmental and power problems and providing appropriate error messages to inform users of these problems. Also, these error messages are used by computer repair service personnel to diagnose and correct the problem. One exemplary environmental and power warning system is provided in the PowerPC Common Hardware Reference Platform, ("CHRP") and RS/6000 Systems to inform the operating system of these types of events. The Common Hardware Reference Platform is described in detail in "PowerPC Microprocessor Common Reference Platform: A System Architecture," ISBN 1-55860-394-8, available from IBM.
In general, the CHRP employs a variety of sensors which detect and measure environmental conditions. If the measurements of these conditions exceed certain threshold values, then data reflecting the conditions is written into an environmental and power warning register ("EPOW" register) in the system. In the CHRP architecture, the data written into the EPOW register is referred to an "action code". However, the action code does not provide adequate information associated with the problem sources. For example, in the CHRP architecture, there are 7 defined action codes which can be written to the EPOW register. Action code 0 indicates the absence of an environmental fault condition. Action code 1 is a cooling system warning, action code 2 is a power warning, and action code 3 is a system shut down warning. Action code 4 is a system halt warning, which is similar to the system shutdown except that it is more critical and indicates that the system may shut down in 20 seconds. Action code 5 is an EPOW "main enclosure" warning which indicates the system may lose power within 4 milliseconds, and action code 7 is an EPOW power off indication.
While the above information provides some indication of the problem experienced by the system, it is insufficient from a diagnostic point of view. For example, action code 1 indicates the system is experiencing a cooling problem, however, it does not indicate which sensor provided the warning, what caused the warning, or the degree of severity of the problem. Therefore, customers may erroneously call the computer repair service for an error caused by site environmental problems. Also, the computer service personnel have difficulty isolating the root cause of the problem and may make incorrect or incomplete repairs. It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide an improved environmental and power warning system which addresses these difficulties. Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in view of the following disclosure.